The Tragic Story of Legendary R&B Diva Phyllis Hyman
When it comes to star power, Phyllis Hyman was in a class by herself. The stunning R&B artist was a strikingly beautiful singer with a powerful, soulful voice that moved everyone who loved her. Whether she was showcasing her range on a ballad like “Living All Alone” or an uptempo dance track like “You Know How to Love Me,” Hyman’s voice was rich, unique and kept audiences wanting more.
But just as she was establishing herself as one of the biggest stars of her time, her career was tragically cut short. Hyman passed away on June 30, 1995, after a long battle with addiction and mental health issues. Although she’s been gone for more than three decades, her fans and friends continue to keep her legacy alive.
This Black Music Month, we are celebrating the life of Phyllis Hyman.
Born in Philly
Phyllis Linda Hyman was born on July 7, 1949, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The oldest of seven siblings, Hyman’s father worked as a barber and her mother was a homemaker. The couple relocated to Pittsburgh to raise their family when Phyllis was young.
A Move to Miami
Hyman discovered her talent for singing as a teen, joining the chorus in high school and eventually earning a music scholarship to college. In the early 1970s, she moved to Miami and began earning money by singing popular music and jazz covers in local clubs.
PH Factor
By the mid 1970s, Hyman was ready to take control of her career and formed her own group, PH Factor. Her former bandmate Hiram Bullock remembers her powerful voice, which helped them find success in the New York City club scene.
“I don’t ever recall an audition where we didn’t get the gig,” he said in an interview for ‘Unsung.’ “I never heard anyone sing with such freedom.”
Taking the Club Scene by Storm
In 1975, Hyman and her band moved to New York City, and it wasn’t long before she found success in the club scene. There, she met jazz and R&B producer Norman Connors, who also worked with other powerhouse vocalists, including Jean Carne and Angela Bofill.
Hyman worked with Norman Connors to record a version of The Stylistics’ classic “Betcha By Golly Wow,” which would help launch her solo career and land her a deal with Buddah Records.
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A Jingle Singer
Phyllis Hyman’s voice wasn’t just heard in night clubs and on the radio. She also sang jingles for popular brands like Sasson Jeans, Clairol and Burger King.
A Messy Marriage
While working as an entertainer on a cruise ship back in 1973, Hyman met Larry Alexander, another performer on the ship. The two got close and developed a personal and professional relationship. Alexander became Hyman’s manager and eventually her husband. The two were married from 1977 to 1982. Many who knew Hyman say it was Alexander who introduced her to cocaine to help her deal with the stress of the music business.
“You Know How to Love Me”
In 1978, Arista Records acquired Buddah Records, which began Hyman’s relationship with legendary executive Clive Davis. Davis immediately recognized Hyman’s talent and wanted her to have mainstream success. He paired her with Barry Manilow, who produced and arranged her single “Somewhere in My Lifetime.” She also worked with James Mtume and Reggie Lucas, who wrote her first Top 15 R&B hit, the uptempo track “You Know How to Love Me.”
Taking Control of Her Career
Things got tense between Phyllis Hyman and Clive Davis while she was at Arista. Davis had a vision for the soulful singer’s career which involved her becoming a well-known popular music star, but Hyman didn’t like feeling like she wasn’t in control. She also didn’t believe she always had the full support of the label executives, who were also working on developing other Black female artists like Dionne Warwick and Aretha Franklin.
“As an artist who had a sense of herself and what she wanted to be, she felt that he was not seeing her vision for who she was, and he, in turn, was seeing her as someone who had potential but needed the kind of material that would propel her to another level. And she was resistant to that,” music journalist David Nathan said in an interview for ‘Unsung.’
Leaving Davis’ Label
Davis and Hyman’s strained relationship hit a breaking point in 1984, when Arista signed Whitney Houston, and Hyman was dropped from the label. Although things weren’t great for Hyman at the label, she didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t leaving on her own terms, as her then-manager, Glenda Gracia, told Unsung.
Although her breakup with Arista Records was a low point, it didn’t take long for Hyman to find her way to another label. She signed with Philadelphia International Records in 1986, who picked her up believing she had a classic voice that could put a new spin on some of the old standards.
Broadway Bound
In 1981, Hyman took her talents to Broadway, where she performed in the show “Sophisticated Ladies,” which was a tribute to the music of composer Duke Ellington. She stayed with the show for two and a half years and earned a Tony nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role.
Battles With Depression
When she wasn’t on stage, Phyllis Hyman battled mental health issues and used alcohol and drugs to deal with her pain. Hyman’s therapist, Dr. Portia Hunt, told ‘Unsung’ that after observing her shift between periods of extreme highs and lows over a period of time, she diagnosed her with bipolar disorder.
In 1986, Dr. Hunt convinced Hyman to enter treatment to help her deal with her reliance on alcohol and cocaine. She came out with a new outlook on life, seeing her sobriety as an opportunity to breathe new life into her music career. But her inability to find
“I think if she had been able to maintain some semblance of a normal home life, I think she could have dealt with the pressures of the business a little better,” her sister Jean told Unsung.
“Living All Alone”
One of Hyman’s first hits with her new record label was the sultry 1986 single, “Living All Alone.” The lyrics of the song, written by Kenneth Gamble, Dexter Wansel and Cynthina Biggs, had parallels to Hyman’s personal life, which is one of the reasons audiences could feel the raw emotion in her voice when she sang. Listening to the lyrics, you can understand the pain she was experiencing at the time.
“Now I live a single life, and I find it’s another world
I’m not even the same, I’m a different girl
Yesterday I was somebody’s baby
Now today I’m a woman on my own.” – ‘Living All Alone’ (1986)
A Lonely Life
Although she had plenty of success and fame, Phyllis Hyman didn’t have much of a personal life. After her divorce from Larry Alexander, she struggled to find luck in love and never married again. Hyman said the demands of her career left her with little time for romance, something, she said made her life very lonely. She continued to struggle with addiction to food, alcohol and cocaine, which lead to a painful cycle of weight gain, depression and financial struggles.
“Being a woman in this industry is very lonely,” she said in an interview. “It’s rare that you have men hanging around backstage and at parties where you might be, the same way you might have women around the men. There is no such thing as a male groupie, at least not one that I would date. That makes it pretty tough.”
“Living in Confusion”
Despite her personal struggles, Hyman continued to release great music in the 1990s. Her 1991 single “Living in Confusion” was a powerful ballad about love and betrayal.
“I had faith in you;
Just knew you wouldn’t hurt me.
But you played a game;
You should be ashamed.
I let my guard down;
I was so vulnerable.
I hope you had your fun.” – “Living in Confusion” lyrics.
“May God Bless You”
On the afternoon of June 30, 1995, Hyman’s assistant found her unconscious in her New York City apartment, just hours before she was scheduled to perform at the Apollo Theater. According to The New York Times, Hyman overdosed on sleeping pills and was pronounced dead at Roosevelt Hospital at 3:50 p.m., less than a week away from her 45th birthday. Investigators found a note Hyman wrote on the scene, which read, ”I’m tired. I’m tired. Those of you that I love know who you are. May God bless you.”
Loved ones gathered to pay tribute to the woman and the artist they loved at a memorial service held at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan.
